Americans use t-shirts as personal billboards in order to advertise, celebrate, raise awareness, express belonging, and to show solidarity. We wear them with pride, and sometimes to show off a little. “Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt.” Sound familiar? How many of us have said these very words, or some version of them? In this country there is a t-shirt for EVERYTHING. Retailers use shirts to promote...

This article previously ran in addiction.com In the months preceding the UNITE to Face Addiction rally on the National Mall in Washington, DC, the promotional trailer stirred emotions and sparked purpose as Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler screamed his iconic “Dream On” in the background. Those of us who have seen addiction up-close and personal know what’s at stake. With a nationwide...

This article was previously published in addiction.com On October 4, 2015, America is going to experience an event with the potential to change the world. On this day, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., will be the convergence of a force so powerful that mammoth change may become possible. And I get to be there! “Change the world?” you may ask. What could possibly be that big? What one thing in this country is so big that...

This article was previously published at addiction.com under a different title. Ten years ago, my college-age daughter fell into addiction’s arms, taking our family on a ride through hell. At the time, it was unthinkable that a child of mine could become addicted to methamphetamine. I mean, that didn’t happen to “nice” people, right? To my way of thinking, addiction happened to other people — people who couldn’t control their lives or...

My beautiful Oregon is now at the jumping off point and facing the abyss of one of the greatest social experiments of the past century. Voters will soon decide the fate of Measure 91 and whether or not marijuana, currently a controlled substance, can join the ranks of legalized free enterprise. Worry pounds in my head and the reverberation screams, don’t jump! There is so much myth flying around about what marijuana is, and what it is...